South Dakota game and fish reports that the reports of the demise of the South Dakota’s Ringneck Pheasant bird population is untrue and just plain overstated. It is true that a number of harsh winters have taken their toll on the Ringneck Pheasant population but not to the point that the population of the birds has been devastated. It can be said that the population cycle of the Pheasant birds is just following an expected cycle of nature - all to be expected in any long term view. For the hunter its always a case of “stay the course” the birds will be back and return in numbers.
It is true that numbers of the birds were down in the northern third of the state. Heavy snows did flatten cover and birds were left out in the cold unprotected either by cold or lack of cover. On the other hand the areas of South Dakota best known for the Ringnecks - the southern third of the state , was missed to a great degree by the extreme weather. It can be said that there are good and bad areas and hunting. Some areas are better than others. It never hurts to “phone ahead” to landowners, other hunters, and hunting authorities in the regions that you choose to plan your hunting trip to before embarking on your yearly fall hunting trips.
Building up your inventory of hunting spots means legwork and preparation. No shoddy work of preparation and legwork will suffice. Full preparation is a must. It is not as if you are a shoddy computer technician whose pride is just to get those boxes out of the door onto unsuspecting victims and customers. You have to pay your dues and scout , scout , scout. Blitz , blitz , blitz. Look for clearcuts and hunt these. It can be said that generally the further you can get of the beaten path then the better. Even getting lost in the woods can be good news to you. Jadan notes that ” One day last year I found a bunch of grouse where i did not think there would be any or even one solitary grouse at all , in a mature wood stand, where the birds were feeding. If I had not taken that wrong set of turns on the way back to my truck I would of never run into , found this grouse heaven and had such a good as well as profitable hunting day at the Narrows.
Transcona noted that you often will get by far the most flushes early in the day and in the last hour and a half when it seems that the birds are out actively feeding before ending the day roosting. Late in the day hunters and their dogs can find find grouse when they seemed to have had trouble locating them earlier. The birds are moving. “ You can still move birds in a heavily hunted covert if you are intelligent and as well thorough enough to do your hunting at the right time of day “
As the ruffled grouse season nears its peak and calendar year peaks grouse hunters are anticipating more than excellent grouse hunting this season of the year 2008. This summer some woodcock banders were noting even complaining that they were running into way too many grouse than normal. Now that October is on its merry way - this is a good problem to have.
During peak years of the grouse cycle a hunter can move a good many grouse in one single day or several years hunting duration. A high flush rate is critical to success overall, because generally a hunter will usually only get a good clear shot at one in five flushing or fleeing grouse. Even a crack hunter like experienced lake manitoba hunting guide Jadran Transcona has to move plenty of birds to bring any home to Ashern Manitoba .
Although grouse numbers , as well as much in the way of Lake Mantoba waterfowl , you cannot expect to simply to flush birds by walking through the scenic lake manitoba narrows woods . Transona notes ” I personally know of hunters who are capable of 100 flush days. They get past their high flush rates by blasting through small pockets of cover.” Its not as if you are interested in a two hour walk past the bush and woods: if it does not move birds right away at one spot , then its time to move on to the next. Blessed it seems are the hunters with plenty of coverts on their maps.
Just a handful of years back , we had to do basic woodcutting with axes , two men saws or even bucksaws.
It took impressive amounts of muscle, wind , perspiration and time to supply a well run hunting , fishing or een basic camping trip camp with wood. It was an accepted fact of life - simple as that. If one was lucky enough to have a larger hunting group - of hunting or fishing buddies - then one could take turns at the drudgery. However this was not always or often the case on planned hunting , fishing or camping trips.
Thermal water pollution is a relatively low and growing problem that cannot be solved by the creation of waste treatment plants and it will increase more and more as more power plants especially nuclear powered plants are built. Scientists generally can generally predict the effects that increased water temperatures will have on fish and aquatic plant life. Although the avid recreational hunter may think that they are outside of this loop of nature - their targets usually not being primarily aquatic - think again. Its not only a question of the simple food chain - ducks , otters etc. but also plant and flora - for food and protection of young - which grow up to be hunted but also one of competition. With decreases of food supply , competition becomes more intense. Minor players, or players of less note , for the nutrients to grow and feed the trophy increase in nature and numbers.
The incremental effects on fish life are not known of a rise in a unit of temperature.
Thermal pollution has been known to be already a serious threat to the Salmon and steelheads in the Columbia river areas These Salmon fish are a major food source during critical parts of the year for Grizzly Bears in their respective regions. Salmon as well as Steelhead in the Northwest already have been severly affected by the water dam builidng programs and by industrial, municipal pollution as well as by logging practices in the wildernessa reas.
Unless preventative measures are discovered and implemented this may well be the final straw in its effective on hunting livestock.
A new breed of handy chain saws make it easier than ever before to keep a woodpile full , prune a tree or even build a log cabin the outback wilderness of Lake Manitoba Narrows.
For a reasonable number of crisp double sawbucks the modern camper or hunter can mainly free himself from that time consuming chore - that of fashioning himself burning sized billets from nature’s own raw material of wood and timber.
A good wilderness camp more often than not utilizes a tremendous amount of firewood. If a woodburning stove is used for cooking or heating the tent, then of course the wood has to be cut down to size. Or in addition , there may be a camp cooking fire, plus a bonefire for cheery socialization. Heat is needed for many things - from frying savoury Canadian back bacon, and golden eggs to drying soggy long handed underwear to a toasty warm snugness.
